We have had some of the worst weather I have ever experienced in Auckland this past week. I scratch my head at times and wonder at the wisdom of living on an island in the South Pacific! Nice spot to be when the weather is good, but! This past week we have been hammered by north east winds which rocked the house, tore branches from trees and generally made venturing outdoors unpleasant.
Then there was the rain … and volumes of it with no respite. The heavens opened and threw it down in force. As can be expected there has been flooding (shocking up in Northland), soggy paddocks, bedraggled livestock and chooks. Yes it has been a week to remember or perhaps one to forget! The positioning of my vegetable gardens on the side of a hill is dubious to say the least. Where was that book on permaculture when we first moved here? And to think I did 4 years of horticulture! So while the drainage is brilliant these gardens do get assaulted by the wind. There is a garden complete with trees, phoenix palm and shrubs which bears the brunt of the NE wind – but it still managed to tear my peas down from their trellis (I pegged them back up LOL) and shake up my brassicas tossing many of them into the dirt. What did I do? I mounded them up with loads of mulch. Perfect!
I went and bought some strawberry plants yesterday – which is big for me as I have never grown them before. The nominated bed will be the insectary where I am going to mound soil (approx 10cm high) and mix in lots of composted horse poo and some coffee grounds. Next up, those plants which are Sundae and Camarosa varieties will be poked into the soil spaced at about 15cm per plant and then mulched with some pine needles, which as we have about 500 pine trees we have no shortage of. As strawberries enjoy slightly acidic soil they will no doubt be very happy here, oh and I shan’t be adding any lime!
A shot of the team, they survived the rotten weather!
Not much else to report … except we are hoping for some nice weather in the next few days and the sun just happens to be shining!
Wherever you are – happy gardening!
Great shots Julie, love the girls, or the team as you put it. I hope you get some better weather, none in the near future for us, showers every day. I don’t think grey is my colour.
Thanks Leanne! Fingers crossed for some good weather for you soon 🙂
Yes, fingers crossed, 🙂
This is a great shot!
Thank you 🙂
Yeah… I went to your blog yesterday and tried to comment, but could not… You once spoke about the “boring” stuff you do. Your blog, the photos, simply burst with life.. It’s amazing! Truly amazing!
Gosh I have a red face! Thank you so much for your comments 🙂
Please be nice and send us some rain! We’ve had the worst possible summer, followed by the worst possible monsoon!
Wish I could send you some rain … although, today there hasn’t been any. Yay, I’m happy about that.
i loved the pegged up peas 🙂 i’ll need to remember that when mine fail to wrap around their trellis! very Make Do!
rain is good, but we gardeners are never happy; it’s either too much or not enough. but yours sounds frightful. i hope you have some good weather now to get over the storm.
Hey, I can’t believe it did that! But it seems to have worked. It was awful seeing them falling all over the place and smothering my garlic into the bargain. Yes rain is good – we are a grumbly old lot aren’t we? Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Love the photo of the bumble bee Julie, really beautiful! Things up here in northland are still very sodden but happy to report that I managed to get into the garlic bed yesterday for some much needed weeding!
Hey Sue … thank you! Hopefully this wonderful weather will help dry out Northland. Great news on the garlic miss, how did you go with the mulching?
Whoops hasn’t happened yet Jules, what do you suggest I use?
Hey Miss, pea straw would be fabulous! But in saying that we chip our own stuff! Hay is ok but may bring in seed, if you have a pond with azolla then scoop that out your garden will love you! 🙂
Hi Julie – being a Northlander I can sympathize regarding the rain. If you haven’t planted those strawberries yet, a friend of ours who grows strawberries commercially told me to put the plants in the fridge for a week before planting to get a better crop of fruit, for those in Northern, warmer NZ climes
Hey Anne, thanks for the tip on the strawberries. Wonder if they will enjoy some time in the fridge! 🙂
Very glad the rain has stopped for you northerners. It was terrible! Couldn’t believe the footage on tv. Have to say your garden is looking beautiful and lush 🙂
Hey Sarah … the weather was awful. I felt so sorry for those further north. The weather this week is amazing! So beautiful … making up for last. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Yikes. And I was beginning to think you always had nice weather. The place looks great in the photos.
Jim, hey. The weather this week is superb. Sunny, no wind and cloud puffs. Perfect gardening weather. I need to get outdoors. 🙂
With weather there is always some give and take. It’s when things go lop-sided that aggravation sets in! As ALWAYS some drop-dead photos. Love the shot of the sheep surrounded by chickens and the one with birds in flight among the trees. Kudos!
Hi, glad you like the pics 🙂 Was very happy when I got the one with the sparrows. They were hanging around waiting for me to feed the chooks. Yes, always give and take with the weather. Today is absolutely Stunning! We are lucky 🙂
Pardon my ignorance but what, exactly, is a chook?
Ah, I didn’t realise, I thought it was international. It is used in Australia and New Zealand – another word for chicken. 🙂
After I posted my reply (and gave the pic another look-see) I figured it out. They don’t call me Sherlock for nothing
🙂
So are you going into winter now… and planting strawberries for your spring? Amazing bee shot. I’ve got to get my winter garden dialed in now.
Hey Wendy … great to hear from you! Yes in the throes of winter. Although this week is stunning weather wise. No, the strawberries will be early next year, so that will be summer eating. Glad you liked the bee pic 🙂 Good luck with your winter garden plan!
My peas are determined not to climb this year but flopping everywhere so I’m going to pinch your idea and peg them up. Love the photos but you can keep the rain.
Hey Anne .. go on give those pegs a go! So far so good with mine, they are still growing nicely. Thanks for stopping by …
Great photos! I like espacially the picture with the trees in the background. And the capture of the flying bee is absolutely amazing! 🙂
Thank you – really pleased you like the pics 🙂
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Hey Julie… Gee Im sorry to hear you’ve been suffering under bad weather too.
We’ve had days where you just cant go out. Having said that Im glad things are well with you all and I just love your positive outlook.
Have to say I especially love the photo of the team and the birds and chookies in flight. Gorgeous!! 🙂 Love that cute little bumble bee as well.
I do hope things are returning to normal. Did you have much of a cleanup? Take care x
Hey Miss … Last week was gorgeous, but the weather has deteriorated again. Never mind. Gosh, glad you think I’m positive 🙂 I like the pic of the birds too. Not too much cleanup here – but further north they have had a bad time and still are. So nice to hear from you. Take care too 🙂
Stay warm Jules and hopefully no more harsh weather for you..or anyone.
We’re getting liquorice allsorts!
Yes I do think you’re positive. Always something nice to say. I like that 🙂
Thanks Robyn .. 🙂 🙂
Beautiful photos – I like “the team” too. Happy gardening.
Thank you 🙂
Oh Julie, that is awful, I’m so sorry to hear about this rotten weather (and to almost have missed this post!). We have a lot more wind and rain as usual too but I guess it’s better than no rain at all which happened when we saw our house for the first time 3 years ago. Your hens don’t seem to impressed but then, they have no garden to worry about! That is a beautiful view you’re showing us down the garden to the pond. How large is the garden? What kind of trees grow in your forest? You have a lot of dense planting and are probably better protected than others. Can I find you on google earth? Keep your chin up, my dear 🙂
Hello lovely .. I have a few more pics going up in the next post, which give you another perspective on the garden. Gosh, we have so many trees in our forest – totara, cabbage trees, nikau palms, pittosporum, piriri, manuka, puka, pongas. Plus about 600 pine trees. Not sure if you can find me on Google earth .. hmmm Thanks for dropping by Annette 🙂
It doesn’t look like winter there. Love the next to last photo with the birds flying!
Hey Sherry, ah trust me it is winter 🙂 I like that photo too!